It appears that the legal window for punishing Wall Street bankers for fraudulent actions that contributed to the 2008 crash has just about closed. And, few tough, just actions have been taken.

Image Source: williamcohan.com

Both Cohan and I have been writing about the Department of Justice’s indictments of the major Wall Street banks for some time, starting with former Attorney General Eric Holder and continuing with our new Attorney General, Loretta Lynch. Cohan quotes Attorney General Lynch on bank behavior: “The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States,”… “Today’s action makes clear that this Department of Justice intends to end any such corrupt practices, to root out misconduct, and to bring wrongdoers to justice.”

Her intentions and Holder’s seemed fairly forthright, yet as Cohan and I point out, the department of Justice has lost sight of the larger issue that is the fraudulent behavior of the Wall Street bankers and traders that resulted in our 2008 financial crisis. The D.O.J. has only managed to indict and jail one banker.

We conveniently overlook that in the 1980’s financial crisis over 1,000 bankers were jailed, not let off with just a fine. They paid for their fraud and financial wrong doing.To date, the 2008 crisis has resulted in nearly $190 billion in fines and settlements from 49 separate financial institutions (Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analysis).

That’s a hefty number, indeed. However, let’s not forget that those fines and settlements were paid by the bank’s shareholders, not the bankers themselves. And, they were paid out as corporate expenses. In other words, the payments were treated as the cost of doing business and in some cases these expenses were tax deductible. Unbelievable, but true!

Astonishing as it seems, the bankers robbed their banks, customers and tax payers and only one banker, Credit Suisse’ senior trader, Kareem Serageldin, has gone to jail. So, in the 2008 crisis, 1; 1980’s crisis,1000! Incredible odds and odds that just don’t add up.

The message is clear. Regardless of what our past and present Attorney Generals claim — that the lack of prosecutions are not a result of their lack of effor — to date, the D.O.J. has not displayed the desire to seek punishment for the misconduct on the part of individual bankers.

A long list of whistleblowers, including me, have repeatedly testified that the evidence of fraud is there. We’ve uncovered it. And the D.O.J. is apparently using that and additional evidence to levy large settlements.

[tweetthis]A long list of whistleblowers have repeatedly testified that the evidence of fraud is there. ~ @RichardMBowen #tbtf #2008 #doj[/tweetthis]

So how is it possible we keep finding evidence to force these large settlements and yet not enough to prosecute? There’s obviously a huge piece missing here which just doesn’t add up. But William Cohan provides much of the answer by clearly showing the template repeatedly used by the D.O.J. in getting these settlements from the banks.

Cohan describes how the D.O.J. threatens to publicly disclose the evidence of wrongdoing and then, in exchange for large settlements by the banks, the D.O.J. seals the evidence so it will never become known by the public and bank executives are not inconvenienced by a perp walk.

By following this template the D.O.J. gets to show the media and public how tough they are on the big bad banks. The banks simply have another expense and the public never sees how widespread the fraud really was.

The infamous bank robber Willie Sutton, when asked why he robs banks, supposedly said, “Cause that’s where the money is.” The D.O.J. has also obviously taken that to heart in filling their own coffers.

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Richard Bowen is widely known as the Citigroup whistleblower. As Business Chief Underwriter for Citigroup during the housing bubble financial crisis meltdown, he repeatedly warned Citi executive management and the board about fraudulent behavior within the organization. The company certified poor mortgages as quality mortgages and sold them to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other investors.

What People Are Saying About Richard M. Bowen

"Richard Bowen is one of my heroes. His is a story of human fortitude at its best and Wall Street at its worst."

~ William D. Cohan, NY Times Best Selling Author

2017-06-30T10:08:59+00:00

"Richard Bowen is one of my heroes. His is a story of human fortitude at its best and Wall Street at its worst." ~ William D. Cohan, NY Times Best Selling Author

http://www.richardmbowen.com/testimonials/2556/

"Richard Bowen reinforced my motto that "there is no right way to do a wrong thing.” Long after his presentation, the conversation has continued about personal responsibility and the courage to challenge things that appear to be wrong. We encourage this dialog and rely on it to help make our business stronger."

~ Eileen McDonnell, Chairman, CEO, & President, Penn Mutual

2015-02-13T19:51:19+00:00

"Richard Bowen reinforced my motto that "there is no right way to do a wrong thing.” Long after his presentation, the conversation has continued about personal responsibility and the courage to challenge things that appear to be wrong. We encourage this dialog and rely on it to help make our business stronger." ~ Eileen McDonnell, Chairman, CEO, & President, Penn Mutual

http://www.richardmbowen.com/testimonials/711/

"Richard Bowen, you are a star and a hero."

~ Ben Stein, Economist and Political Commentator

2015-02-13T19:50:26+00:00

"Richard Bowen, you are a star and a hero." ~ Ben Stein, Economist and Political Commentator

http://www.richardmbowen.com/testimonials/712/

"Richard's speech at the April Financial Executives International dinner was informative, interesting, riveting, and fast moving. The feedback from members was overwhelming positive, and Richard received one of the few standing ovations given by our membership."

"Richard's speech at the April Financial Executives International dinner was informative, interesting, riveting, and fast moving. The feedback from members was overwhelming positive, and Richard received one of the few standing ovations given by our membership." ~ Jim Farrell, Program Chairman, Dallas Chapter, Financial Executives International

http://www.richardmbowen.com/testimonials/532/

"Richard Bowen has been there, done that, and has the scars to prove it, and his message of corruption at the highest levels of industry and government needs to be heard. I only wish that more bankers had the courage that Bowen exhibits. He is not only one of the most talented bankers I have ever met, he has more integrity than all the bankers on Wall Street put together. If his former employer had listened to him taxpayers would not have had to bail out Citi for the third time in the last 30 years."

~ Dennis McCuistion, Host of the McCuistion TV program

2014-12-28T19:48:06+00:00

"Richard Bowen has been there, done that, and has the scars to prove it, and his message of corruption at the highest levels of industry and government needs to be heard. I only wish that more bankers had the courage that Bowen exhibits. He is not only one of the most talented bankers I have ever met, he has more integrity than all the bankers on Wall Street put together. If his former employer had listened to him taxpayers would not have had to bail out Citi for the third time in the last 30 years." ~ Dennis McCuistion, Host of the McCuistion TV program

http://www.richardmbowen.com/testimonials/533/

"Richard Bowen is a dynamic, entertaining speaker and story-teller - a CPA with a great personality!"

~ Betty Garrett, Garrett Speakers International

2014-12-28T19:47:50+00:00

"Richard Bowen is a dynamic, entertaining speaker and story-teller - a CPA with a great personality!" ~ Betty Garrett, Garrett Speakers International

http://www.richardmbowen.com/testimonials/531/

"I believe Richard Bowen is the only keynote speaker to ever receive a standing ovation from the Texas Society of CPA’s at any of its annual conferences."

~ Fred Timmons, Chairman of The Texas Society of CPA's

2014-12-28T19:47:22+00:00

"I believe Richard Bowen is the only keynote speaker to ever receive a standing ovation from the Texas Society of CPA’s at any of its annual conferences." ~ Fred Timmons, Chairman of The Texas Society of CPA's